To change or not to change...

Toyotafanboi

... that is the question.

Kind of in a bit of a rut here with the Celica.

Pros:
- I love it as an ownership experience
- Reliable and I know it and trust it inside out
- Corolla maintenance bills for 190bhp
- Has done between 5-900 miles a week for the last year without batting an eye

Cons:

- I'm getting bored
- Bodywork is getting tatty (170k miles)
- It'l need a grand spunked at it again soon between tax and maintenance


I had a look at a Mk3 Laguna Coupe the other week and really really liked it. Then I woke up and realised I was seriously considering spending €10k on a 1.5d with poor reliability and worse residuals. I've also been thinking of holding out for an 05-06 facelift 140 Celica as the insurance would be much cheaper and i'd be getting into a much fresher car, but I don't know if that's a lie i'm telling myself.

Is there anything nice out there for around €5k?
I'd want

- a good level of reliability
- striking/ sporty looks
- sub 2.0 on the pre 08 tax
- decent poke, would need a lot of convincing to go diesel
- something not too mainstream

Thoughs welcome.

Nuw

In your position, I'd keep it. Maybe spend a little on the bodywork, will still be cheaper than 5k (unless you go crazy), then save a little and go to a pro who will nicely wrap it for you, you'll then have a 'fresh' looking car that you know inside/out and trust.

That's just me though

Cheensbo

How's about that trueno I posted in the other thread..

240bhp, 1000kg, 40mpg..

Daily/weekend/track weapon!

colm_mcm

TT?

The Sidewards Man

Dont buy the Mk3 Laguna Coupe anyway, French heap of scrap.

colm_mcm

what usually goes wrong on the Laguna Coupe?

bazz26

The Laguna Coupe is 2.0 litre also not 1.5 litre.

If you're looking for something post 2007 that is similar to the Celica but isn't a Celica then you will struggle. This market has shrunk away to nothing at this stage.

GustavoFring

Golf GTI? Shouldn't crucify you on a long spin if you're still doing that commute. There are a lot about though and the wheels don't really suit this particular example but as an all rounder they're pretty good.

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/mint-gti-full-service-history/12259055

CIP4

While I don't think reliability would be an issue on a mk3 Laguna they are as reliable as anything else in the segment it's not like it's a 2002 one with all the electric problems. However I think going to it from a 190 Celica you would quickly get bored of it. For 5k I can't think of anything that would be as good all round as the Celica 190bhp cheap to buy, cheap to maintain and 40mpg that's difficult to live up to. The logical next step would be a GT86 but they still seem to be making big money.

Toyotafanboi

This is coming to a bit of a head for me now. I've had the itch to move on for a little while now.

Anyway, my commute is changing from July onwards to a 200km round trip per day, 90% motorway. This new location is somewhere I should be settled for a number of years.

The Celica is great and all, pulling in 40mpg and stuff, but between one thing and without making too many excuses, obviously I want to change, but I want the change to work for me. Anything I buy for €5k ish is probably going to break my heart as much as the Celica does.

I'm thinking doing a max budget of €10k, could push the boat a little further for something lovely but i'd happily spend less if the car is nice.

Diesel or petrol that stands a chance of 40+ mpg
Good looking, nothing too common
Tax of less than €700 pa
Reliable somewhat dependable
A car, like the Astra that I will be keeping indefinitely
Wouldn't like to buy privately at this price point, personally

Just looking around, if I stretch to €12k ish I could get into an A5 sportback or Passat CC which both seem fitting but i'm aware that buying the cheapest examples of any model is a bit of a lottery.

Other **** that's wetting my whistle would be a Civic Type S or Auris SR either with the 2.2d engines. Alfa Giulietta JTDM and Octavia VRS seem very reasonable too.

Want to go diesel for the better fuel economy and handy tax and the fact that the Celica screaming its nuts off doing 4500rpm @ 130km/h does get quite wearing.

Buying a modern diesel does frighten the life out of me though with so much stuff to go wrong. Ideally i'd like an auto to try and eliminate clutch/ flywheel issues.

Thoughts :pac:

bazz26

What about a Honda Accord:

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2010-honda-accord-idtec-ex/12397444

The Sidewards Man

Unless the op is approaching retirement that accord I would not recommend.

BdaraB

From the list you put up and from seeing your car history I'd say Civic from that list

Not this one one but something similiar should do what you need,

I wouldn't get too worried about flywheel issues if you're doing that sort of milage, most flywheel wear is done in first and second gear so you're unlikey to see failure on higher milage cars.

After driving a Celica a Passat CC will more than likey bore you but will do that job without fault, I wouldn't bother looking at A5s not worth the money over the Passat. The Octavia VRS could be a good shout but you might find it a jack of all trades yet master of none

bazz26

The Sidewards Man wrote: »

Dont buy the Mk3 Laguna Coupe anyway, French heap of scrap.

The Sidewards Man wrote: »

Unless the op is approaching retirement that accord I would not recommend.

Instead of default references to silly generalisations and hearsay why not actually contribute something constructive to the thread?

Toyotafanboi

The Accord isn't a bad shout, the more suggestions the better!

Two others would be

Skoda Superb mk2
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/skoda-superb-elegance-2-0-tdi-170-bhp/12488461

and the Kia Pro'Ceed is actually a good looking car imo
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/kia-pro-ceed-1-6-crdi-ex/12454765

James Bond Junior

A friend recently bought a 2.0 titanium mondeo. Lovely place to be and can be bought cheaply in the uk. Not the most exciting cars in the world I know but would tick a lot of boxes for you.

Or how about twin turbo rear wheel drive 200+bhp fun?
Chain already done.

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/bmw-123d-msport/12466346

This one has a warranty and chain replacement.

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/bmw-123-d-coupe-1-series-12-month-mapfre-warranty/11909990

Or

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201605224208193/sort/atcustom/radius/1501/make/bmw/model/1_series/page/1/usedcars/postcode/bs324nf

Toyotafanboi

123d seems like a great all rounder, why aren't there more of those?

That second one is only around the corner from me, but it's at the very thick end of my budget. Good idea on behalf of the seller but a mapfre is hardly worth the paper it's written on.

I think I have refined my criteria a bit

Not slow
Not too mainstream
Not desperately unreliable
€10k~

Honda CR-Z looks like fun. As does VW Scirocco TSi but i'd say 40mpg in the Scirocco would be a fantasy.

James Bond Junior

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

123d seems like a great all rounder, why aren't there more of those?

That second one is only around the corner from me, but it's at the very thick end of my budget. Good idea on behalf of the seller but a mapfre is hardly worth the paper it's written on.

I think I have refined my criteria a bit

Not slow
Not too mainstream
Not desperately unreliable
€10k~

Honda CR-Z looks like fun. As does VW Scirocco TSi but i'd say 40mpg in the Scirocco would be a fantasy.

They were over 50k new here and nobody really wanted to spend over 50 snots on a one series.

Why not go test drive it, you'd never know how much you could haggle off? At least you'd know if it was for you or not.

You'd probably land a 123d hatchback fairly easily in from England on your budget or even a coupe if you were willing to stretch it at all. Read a few reviews on the forums, they seem to be all the car one would need. They're a definite car to have on my list anyway. Alpina use the engine in their d3 bi turbo with a small power hike added.

CIP4

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

I think I have refined my criteria a bit

Not slow
Not too mainstream
Not desperately unreliable
€10k~

Honda CR-Z looks like fun. As does VW Scirocco TSi but i'd say 40mpg in the Scirocco would be a fantasy.

I reckon a tsi scirocco would do close the 40mpg. Two issues I can see with them for you is all the Irish ones are 1.4tsi 122bhp no 140 or 170bhp ones were available here new. Coming from the Celica to a 122 tsi Scirocco would feel quite slow surely. The other issue is I've never seen even an early Scirocco in a dealer (main or independant) for anything close to 10k euro unless they have recently come down a lot in price.

Toyotafanboi

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2010-volkswagen-scriocco-1-4-tsi122-bhp-nct-01-18/12232405

They are out there. Most sub €15k Sciroccos are private deals but there is the odd dealer sale and i'm not afraid to travel.

The Celica is flat as a fart unless you are thrashing it, a bit of low down torque and i'm happy once it's competently powerful.

James Bond Junior

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2010-volkswagen-scriocco-1-4-tsi122-bhp-nct-01-18/12232405

They are out there. Most sub €15k Sciroccos are private deals but there is the odd dealer sale and i'm not afraid to travel.

The Celica is flat as a fart unless you are thrashing it, a bit of low down torque and i'm happy once it's competently powerful.

That scirocco looks pretty tired. I think they have to have leather seats or they look pretty spartan.

Toyotafanboi

James Bond Junior wrote: »

That scirocco looks pretty tired. I think they have to have leather seats or they look pretty spartan.

It does in fairness, classic case of buying the cheapest available examples of a model.

Been on t'internet all morning. Really liking the Civic Type S, 1.8 petrol or 2.2 diesel.

Good looking cars that i'd expect to be decently reliable. Easy to avoid blowing the budget on one too.

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/honda-civic-1-8-i-vtec-type-s-sport/12272568

GustavoFring

The civic lacks anything low down, you need to rev it and it's pretty decent then. They are pretty tinny, noisy and feel a little light on the motorway tbh. Can't fault them for fuel economy tbh, mid-40s is easily doable and as reliable as you'd get.

AMKC

The Laguna MK3 is a very good car its also very reliable the same for the Coupe and the Coupe looks great too plus they are rare. I think if you could find one with the 4wheel steer within your budget you would love it and not get bored of it. The Civic too is lovely and should be bullet proof. You could also consider a BMW not sure what is in your budget but I will say the interior of the MK3 Laguna is as good as any BMW interior.

Bandito909

Defoe change your car... And let us know when the celica is up for sale!!

Toyotafanboi

i reckon my stiffy is set on a Civic Type S 1.8 or Type R 2.0, very different animals but i'm sure either will make me happy. have driven a 1.8 but not a 2.0, 1.8 felt ok, similar to the Celica, i'd say it's handy on fuel.

have been reading online and plenty of Type R's seem to be pulling 35mpg on a run which would do me just fine. really liking the look of this one
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/honda-civic-type-r-dohc-vtec-3dr-only-57-000-mil/11548910
biggest stumbling block is it's at the other side of the country from me. i want to be in something sooner rather than later, but the next few weeks would be ideal. Then the Celica will be up for sale and nobody will want it :P

omb0wyn5ehpij9

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

i reckon my stiffy is set on a Civic Type S 1.8 or Type R 2.0, very different animals but i'm sure either will make me happy. have driven a 1.8 but not a 2.0, 1.8 felt ok, similar to the Celica, i'd say it's handy on fuel.

have been reading online and plenty of Type R's seem to be pulling 35mpg on a run which would do me just fine. really liking the look of this one
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/honda-civic-type-r-dohc-vtec-3dr-only-57-000-mil/11548910
biggest stumbling block is it's at the other side of the country from me. i want to be in something sooner rather than later, but the next few weeks would be ideal. Then the Celica will be up for sale and nobody will want it :P

I know the guy who owned that black Civic before trading it in. I have one myself in silver. They are very comfortable on larger journeys. I have mine almost 5 years and still love it. But it will bleed you dry if you are doing 200km a day so I would definitely avoid the Type R.

Based on what I'd get out of a tank on a long journey, those 200kms a day would cost you about 120-130 quid a week on petrol. And that is before you take into account any driving outside of your normal work commute

Toyotafanboi

BDJW wrote: »

I know the guy who owned that black Civic before trading it in. I have one myself in silver. They are very comfortable on larger journeys. I have mine almost 5 years and still love it. But it will bleed you dry if you are doing 200km a day so I would definitely avoid the Type R.

Based on what I'd get out of a tank on a long journey, those 200kms a day would cost you about 120-130 quid a week on petrol. And that is before you take into account any driving outside of your normal work commute

do you know that's actually around what i had in mind. 1000km a week in the Celica costs me around €90-100 and i had thought if the Civic cost around 20% more i wouldn't feel too bad. good to hear some first hand figures though

it's a fantastic looking example that one and pretty much the only one with a dealer in my price range. even at that it's a budget stretcher. been for sale a while, if it could be had for <€11k it'd be nice.

Sleepy

Would you not consider a bangernomics diesel for that kind of commute and keep the Celica for leisure?

omb0wyn5ehpij9

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

do you know that's actually around what i had in mind. 1000km a week in the Celica costs me around €90-100 and i had thought if the Civic cost around 20% more i wouldn't feel too bad. good to hear some first hand figures though

it's a fantastic looking example that one and pretty much the only one with a dealer in my price range. even at that it's a budget stretcher. been for sale a while, if it could be had for <€11k it'd be nice.

I do very little mileage (I've only done 36k kms in the 5 years I've had it). A good chunk of my driving would be stop/start short journeys, then there is also the mix of some vtec and some longer journeys. I installed an app on my phone last June and I input the cost and amount of petrol I put in every time I fill up. It's telling me that in the last year my fuel consumption is 10.3 litres/100km which is 27mpg.

I always fill up as soon as the fuel light comes on, so I would normally be putting in 45 litres at each fill up. If I'm only doing stop/start short journeys, I would only get 320-340kms a tank. If i'm doing longer journeys, it would be 450 - 460kms a tank. I could probably count on one hand the amount of times I've got more than 500kms to a tank

Toyotafanboi

not really unfortunately. when you think of the finances involved in taxing and insuring two "large" engined pre 2008 cars and then having a high mileage petrol and an unknown quantity diesel, i'd be grey haired before Christmas. That and the Celica as much as i love it is not something i cherish enough to store up for weekends.

ideally i'd like to buy the new car, then use the sale of the Celica (an optimistic 1500-2000) to pay for the first years tax and insurance on the new car, to give my bank account a bit of breathing space.